Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057352).pdf/343

 SIK 335 "The third son, Manik, was a devotee, and refused to be troubled with worldly affairs. All he asked for was one village on the banks of the Ganges, where he might spend his life in worsbip, and wash away his sins three times a day in the holy stream. The youngest son, Bhooledhan, was quite a boy at the time of his father's death, and took what share his brothers chose to give him, and they do not seem to bave treated him badly. "The law of primogeniture did not exist among the family, and every son, as he grew up and married, claimed his right to a separate share of his father's inheritance, and thus the ancestral estate constantly dwindled as fresh slices were cut off it, till at last the whole family were a set of impoverished gentlemen, who kept up none of the dignity which had belonged to the first conquerors, Bhage Singh and his sons. For six generations they stagnated thus, no important event marking their his- tory till the time of Hecra Singh. "The family property in his time had grown very small, and he had five sons to divide it amongst; and to add to his misfortunes he was accused of some crime, thrown into prison at Fyzabad, and loaded with chains. With the chains on his legs he escaped, arrived safely at Surosee, and lay in hiding there. His pride being thus broken, he resolved to send his third son, Kulander Singh, to take service in the Company's army. He rose to be Soobadar Major in the 49th Regiment of Native Infantry, and in this position, through his supposed influence with the Resident, be- came a very considerable man. He knew that as long as he was at hand, no chukladar would venture to treat the Parihar zemindars with injustice; but on luis death they would be again at the mercy of the local authorities. "He therefore collected all the members of the brotherhood who were descended from Asees, and persuaded them to mass their divided holdings nominally into one large estate, of which his nephew, Golab Singh, should be the representative talookdar ; so that while in reality each small share- holder retained sole possession of his own share, they should present the appearance of a powerful and united talooka making Golab Singh their nominal head. Thus the chukladars would be afraid to touch a man, who seemed to hold so large an estate, though in reality he only enjoyed a small portion of it. The brotherhood consented to this, and from 1840 till annexation the estate was held in the name of Golab Singh alone, and they had no further trouble from the oppressions of the chukladars." "Elliott's Chronicles of Oonao" pages 58-60. Golab Singh is now the recognized Taluqdar of Sarausi. SIKANDARPUR--Pargana SIKANDARPUR-Tahsil UNAO-District UNAO.-This village, which has a population of 1,679 gives name to the pargana. It is situated six miles west from Unao, and close to a lake called Barkota. No road passes through or near it. There is no jungle, but groves of mango and mahua are to the west. The water is sweet and climate healthy. Their is a Government school here. There is no market held or fair celebrated in this village. There is one temple to Mahadeo. For